1. Horst - The Harmonica Man (Horst - Munspelskungen)
Horst Holtfreter, born in Germany came to be known as Munspelsmannen as he, homeless on the streets of Stockholm could be found playing his harmonica throughout the evening. This short documentary depicts Horsts life through interviews and footage of his street-based-performances.
2. Facing the Mirror (Im Spiegel)
A documentary about homeless people living in Switzerland.
3. Cows Knocked Up by Fog (Kühe, vom Nebel geschwängert)
Catchy mix of farce and documentary. Portrait of a Berlin theatre company made up entirely of the homeless, alcoholics and junks. They call themselves ‘rats’ and take the film over to have a party.
4. Democracy Is ...
The film is a controversy on democracy. Is our society really democratic? Can everyone be part of it? Or is the act of being part in democracy dependent to the access on technology, progression or any resources of information, as philosophers like Paul Virilio or Jean Baudrillard already claimed?
It has an average vote of 10 on TMDB.
5. Freeload
Just as the original hobos of the early 20th century were scorned the mainstream of society, so too are today's train riders. FREELOAD is a dive into a beggar's existence. It is a ride through America's backyard. It is a musical endeavor that feels like a drama. It is a sociological examination of the ignored.
It has an average vote of 7 on TMDB.
6. The Hotel of Waifs (Kimsesizler Oteli)
Waifs, homeless, derelicts, almsmen, others, forgettens, outcasts, unwanteds. The Hotel of Waifs; a temporary resting place far from home, an amusement in a pale fun fair, an enthusiastic trip on roundabout ways of soul.
It has an average vote of 7 on TMDB.
7. Lead Me Home
Poignant stories of homelessness on the West Coast of the US frame this cinematic portrait of a surging humanitarian crisis.
It has an average vote of 6.486 on TMDB.
8. J Is for Junkie
In the 1980s and 1990s, an epidemic of crack cocaine addiction ravaged African American communities across the United States. Crack is extremely addictive, a trap that can lead to homelessness and an early death. Black addicts in Atlanta, Georgia tell us about their addiction, their past, and their struggles with police.
It has an average vote of 7 on TMDB.
9. Deleted
A short documentary following the last 5 hours of a 59-years-old man, Ahmed before becoming homeless due to the late payments and bureaucracy by the Department for Work and Pensions.
10. Do Lado de Fora (Do Lado de Fora)
(Do Lado de Fora)
It has an average vote of 10 on TMDB.
11. 20 Cans of Chunky Beef Soup (20 Cans of Chunky Beef Soup)
Documentary tells the story of Maxim Vakhmin, a veritable alleycat of a man. Revered as both an angel and a devil, Maxim is losing friends and finding new ones as a homeless person in the USA.
12. Hidden (Escondidos)
A homeless couple looks for a way to get ahead, working and making an effort, while trying to overcome their past.
It has an average vote of 2 on TMDB.
13. When Life Hands You Lemons
Homeless student in New York City documents her family struggles.
It has an average vote of 4 on TMDB.
14. Street Life (南京路)
Street Life documents the lives of Chinese migrants in Shanghai, one of the world’s largest and most vibrant cities, now symbolic of China’s economic might. The film centers on Nanjing Road, one of China’s oldest commercial streets and today a popular destination for tourists and moneyed Chinese. The street has also become a Mecca for uprooted and homeless Chinese, who make ends by collecting garbage and recyclables. These characters and their stories are the focus of the film. The central character in Street Life is a migrant known as “Black Skin.” Black Skin faces numerous pressures in the course of the film, including police violence. In the end, these pressures are too much for him to bear and he goes mad. Black Skin’s story intersects with those of fellow bottle collectors, enterprising thieves and even a young boy who has been abandoned.
It has an average vote of 6.5 on TMDB.
15. Carts of Darkness
In the picture-postcard community of North Vancouver, filmmaker Murray Siple follows men who have turned bottle-picking, their primary source of income, into the extreme sport of shopping cart racing. Enduring hardships from everyday life on the streets of Vancouver, this sub-culture depicts street life as much more than stereotypes portrayed in mainstream media. The films takes a deep look into the lives of the men who race carts, the adversity they face, and the appeal of cart racing despite the risk.
It has an average vote of 6.9 on TMDB.
16. I can't stay here anymore
Jörg is one of the many homeless living near the Vatican. But there is something unusual about him: he appears and talks like a sort of holy man, prophesying, among other things, his next reincarnation as Jesus Christ. This transformation will enable him to drastically change the way things are on this Earth. However, beneath the delusions of omnipotence of a man fighting for glory and universal justice, we find a lonely and pained individual, frightened by the great mystery that awaits all of us.
17. Bums and Dogs (Skitnice i psi)
A hotel in the centre of town is a war-time home and refuge for many of Sarajevo's homeless people. Every morning they leave the hotel and wander around the destroyed city gathering again at the defunct hotel in the afternoon. This film follows their separate fates through the bitter comparing of images of the bums with those of dogs abandoned by their owners and now left et the mercy of the war ravaged streets of Sarajevo.
18. Trickle Down Town
Tomasz Biernacki’s thought-provoking documentary about the homeless crisis in Seattle. Deftly interweaving in-depth stories of community members who are living the crisis on the streets with interviews of political leaders and community advocates, vivid images of the current state of affairs and a poignant examination of the roots of homelessness in the region, Biernacki paints a picture of a city struggling to come to grips with an unprecedented emergency, and finds a few glimmers of hope.
It has an average vote of 6 on TMDB.
19. This Beggar's Description
It's a sensitive, moving doc chronicling the life of Tétrault's brother Philip , a Montreal poet, musician and diagnosed paranoid schizophrenic. A promising athlete as a child, Philip began experiencing mood swings in his early 20s. His extended family, including his daughter, share their conflicted feelings love, guilt, shame, anger with the camera. They want to make sure he's safe, but how much can they take?
20. The Shelter (L'abri)
It is winter at an emergency shelter for the homeless in Lausanne. Every night at the door of this little-known basement facility the same entry ritual takes place, resulting in confrontations which can sometimes turn violent. Those on duty at the shelter have the difficult task of “triaging the poor”: the women and children first, then the men. Although the total capacity at the shelter is 100, only 50 “chosen ones” will be admitted inside and granted a warm meal and a bed. The others know it will be a long night.
It has an average vote of 6 on TMDB.
